The rise of Node.js has led to a lot of buzz about the framework and whether it’s a viable option for enterprise-scale web applications.
Node.js is becoming more mainstream as many enterprises consider using Node.js when building new web applications. It’s a robust, scalable, and fast open-source JavaScript runtime environment. It’s also one of the most popular frameworks used by developers worldwide.
Node.js is also supported by the community as a third-party independent open-source software. Since it entered the market, people have started using it to build a wide range of real-time applications.
But how is Node.js good for enterprises? In this article, we will discuss a few benefits of node.js for enterprises.
What does Node.js do?
Node.js is a platform built on Chrome’s JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, perfect for data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices.
Node.js applications are written in JavaScript. Without changes, the applications can run within the Node.js runtime on Linux, OS X, Windows, or Solaris operating systems.
The platform was developed by Ryan Dahl in 2009 and gained traction for building real-time web applications using JavaScript on the server side. Node.js is employed across many industries, including finance, eCommerce, and social media.
Top benefits of Node.js for enterprises
1. Have free, open-source server environment
Node.js is free to use and is open source, meaning anyone can look at its code to see how it works or make modifications. This makes it easier for developers to work with because they don’t have to pay for their software and can modify it without worrying about copyright infringement or other legal issues.
2. Provides Backend and frontend support
One major advantage of Node.js is that it supports backend and frontend development in the same language — JavaScript. This means that developers can write code once and reuse it across multiple platforms and devices, making it easier to maintain projects over time as new features are rolled out or bugs are discovered.
You can use Node as a backend platform to build your application or run it on the frontend using frameworks like Nest or Express. This makes it easy to combine both worlds: a dynamic language’s flexibility with powerful frameworks’ performance.
3. Takes Faster time-to-market
Node.js enables real-time data updates with its event-driven architecture. This makes it ideal for building real-time applications such as chat apps or gaming apps, where users expect instant responses as they interact with the app.
Developers can write better code because Node uses an asynchronous programming model. They can write the code more straightforwardly than traditional synchronous programming models such as Java or Python.
4. Helps in Scalability
Node.js is designed for high-performance applications that require scalability. It allows developers to handle large amounts of traffic by scaling their applications gracefully across multiple servers.
Asynchronous programming enables it to handle more requests simultaneously than synchronous programming models such as PHP or Ruby on Rails (RoR). This means that Node can handle more concurrent connections without affecting the performance of your application.
5. Tried and tested tool
Node has been around for more than a decade now. It shows that Node.js works well as a platform for building production-grade software products. Enterprises can trust that they won’t have to worry about upgrades when they use Node because thousands of developers use it. The developers of Node.js continue to upgrade and support the platform to make it better and more user-friendly.
In the past few years, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in companies using Node.js for their products. Big guns like PayPal, Netflix, and eBay have jumped on the bandwagon. There’s no doubt that Node.js is a mature and well-tested tool, so it’s unlikely to be neglected or abandoned anytime soon.
6. Active community
The Node community is large enough that most developers can find answers to their questions online or on social media platforms like Stack Overflow and Twitter.
Many books are also available on Node and its associated technologies, such as Express and MongoDB. The fact that so many organizations use Node means that there’s always someone who can help if the developer gets stuck with something technical.
7. Have best prototyping capabilities
The Node Package Manager makes installing new modules and packages in your project easy. You can also use npm (the default package manager) to search for existing modules that can be reused in your project. This feature makes it easy to start with Node.js quickly and allows developers to prototype their ideas quickly.
With just a few lines of code, enterprises can build an entire prototype of an application. They don’t have to worry about other dependencies or configurations like setting up databases.
8. Supports IoT
Integration is key for the Internet of Things. Node.js allows for the MQTT protocol, commonly used by IoT apps. This makes it easy to connect to independent and third-party services and makes it ready for integration through multiple environments. Integration usually happens at the backend level.
All IoT SDKs for Node.js from top cloud providers are built to communicate using MQTT.js. AWS IoT Node.js is one example of such an integration. It can process and route millions of messages to AWS endpoints and other devices using MQTT, providing a safe and reliable way to connect all your devices.
9. Enables microservices architecture
Node.js has been used in microservice architectures for many years now. It’s suited to building many applications and services, including web applications and APIs. This makes it an ideal choice for enterprise developers who need to build complex applications that can scale horizontally across multiple servers.
A huge benefit of Node.js is its ability to create small, independent components that can run in isolation from each other. This makes it ideal for developers to build and test smaller chunks of functionality with ease while keeping them independent from one another.
Top companies using Node.js
LinkedIn: LinkedIn has used Node.js since 2011 as part of its mobile app development platform. The company also employs Node to manage its website and backend services.
PayPal: PayPal used to build web applications using Java, but now they use JavaScript in the browser and Node.js on servers. Node.js helps them solve the user interface issue by enabling both the browser and server applications to be written in JavaScript.
Netflix: Netflix’s website was transformed into a single-page app with the help of JavaScript and Node.js. Java supports the backend of Netflix, and Node powers its user interfaces.
Uber: This company was an early adopter of Node.js and most of its systems are written in Node. Its customer-facing systems, like those for booking a ride or seeing available cars, run on Node.
Hire the best Node.js developer for your next project
Hiring a developer for your next project is an excellent experience. They can help you with your requirements, help you with different development issues and give you a better outcome. However, hiring the right developer for your job can take some time.
HIP is a mobile and web development company that helps you hire Node.js developers fast and easily. From our pool of in-house Node.js developers, we give you a handpicked choice of the top Node.js developers with relevant experience and expertise. We can help you hire a team of dedicated Node.js developers to build web applications that meet your needs while remaining scalable as your business grows.
FAQs
Why do enterprises use Node.js?
The main reason companies use Node.js is because they want to build scalable applications that can handle thousands of simultaneous connections. This is useful when building applications such as chat apps, real-time data analytics tools, and multiplayer games.
Is Node.js good for fintech?
Yes, NodeJs can be used for building a fintech application. What makes Node.js advantageous for this purpose is that it offers full-stack development with JavaScript. This means that developers can work more efficiently and produce code more quickly. Additionally, there is the potential to reuse and share code, which can further speed up the development process. Plus, there are many free tools available to those who use Node.js.
What can I build using Node.js?
Many realtime applications have been created using Node.js such as:
- Social Media websites like Facebook and Twitter.
- Chat apps like Slack and HipChat, etc.
- Online Games like PokemonGO etc.
- Collaboration apps like Google Docs, etc.
- IoT (Internet of Things) devices like Nest thermostats, etc.
- Chatbots for Customer Support, etc.
- Mobile apps like UberEATS, etc.
- Serverless APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) etc.,
- Bots for Business Automation etc.,
- Serverless Cloud Services (FaaS – Function as a Service) etc.
With many top companies using Node JS it seems that it is a future in web development.
